You're on your three-month sabbatical through March 1. Thanks for taking the time to speak with us.

I just came back from seven weeks of volunteer work in Ghana through Global Volunteer Network based in New Zealand. I wanted to do something different for my 50th birthday. I was teaching English and building toilets. I went there to teach but realized there was a need for better sanitation. By the joys of Facebook, I was able to raise $7,000, the entire amount I needed, for the project.

My host was Albert Manu, a minister in Prampram, a small fishing village, a couple of hours from the capital but light years away from Accra, the capital. Our conversations recharged my batteries. Topics covered things we take for granted, but from a different culture: Why do you do that? How are the pastoral visits? Homosexuality? Scripture?

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Purim parties

The public is invited to celebrate the happy holiday at:

6 p.m. Saturday at Congregation Gates of Heaven, 852 Ashmore Ave., Schenectady. Dinner followed by 7 p.m. service with the Megillah reading. Costumes with a Wild West theme are encouraged. Tickets are $10, $5 for children 12 and younger and $30 for a family. Call 374-8173 for reservations.

7 p.m. Sunday at the Shenendehowa Adult Community Center, 6 Clifton Common Court, Clifton Park. "Purim in Africa" will feature the reading of the Megillah, an African buffet and a drum circle. Everyone is encouraged to bring percussion instruments and wear an African or Purim costume. Tickets are $10, $5 for children 4 to 12. 495-0772.

5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Albany Jewish Community Center, 340 Whitehall Road. Carnival with games and food. Admission free. 10 tickets for $6 for the games. 438-6651.

Sound like the sabbatical in Africa was a long interfaith event.

Yes, it was. Speaking of interfaith, we are celebrating 50 years of pulpit exchange this spring with First Reformed Church in Schenectady.

There's a Jewish holiday this weekend. Happy Purim.

It is the story from the Book of Esther, about Jews who lived in Shushan in Persia and were to be executed by Haman, an adviser to King Ahasuerus, but the Jewish people survived because of the heroism of Queen Esther. That's what Purim celebrates: that our people survived.

We read the Megillah, the scroll of Esther. Every time Haman's name is announced, we boo. In certain customs, Haman's name is written on the soles of the shoes and people walk till it erases. It is a joyous holiday. It is celebrated on the 14th of Adar, which on the Jewish lunar calendar is always about this season of the year. It is like a Jewish version of Mardi Gras. You are supposed to put on costumes, drink, celebrate, there is a lot of merriment. I will wear my West African suit.

We are observing it Saturday evening, but many other congregations will do it Sunday morning. Traditionally scrolls are not read in nighttime — before electricity it was dark.

The custom is also to have a spiel, which means play in Yiddish. The last couple of years, local physician Howard Schlossberg, has written it. Last year it was "The Lion King." This year it will be "The Wild West."

It's always been open to the public.

When I lived in Jerusalem in 1986, my first year of seminary, a Swedish group showed up at Purim. Their eyes were wide open. We were in silly costumes. It is not the best way to introduce your religion, because everything is hafook, or upside down, but it is a lot of fun.

It is my favorite Jewish holiday. and a great way to end my sabbatical.